Week 6 : O'Hara 51 Christ Prep 23

In a rare Saturday afternoon game, O'Hara defeated Christ Prep 51-23. The game featured lots of big plays and quick scoring drives for the Celtics. O'Hara scored early and often, led by James Tillman's three touchdowns, T. J. White's 288 yards passing, and Danny Hernandez's 165 yards receiving.
O'Hara opened the game with a 47 yard pass from White to Aaron Stubblefield, then got on the board first on a 29 yard Bryce Scovill field goal. On O'Hara's next drive Hernandez had an 82 yard reception on the first play. He almost scored, but was forced out of bounds at the two. Tillman carried the ball the last two yards for the first of his three touchdowns.
Hernandez again got the Celtics started on their next drive, taking a curl pass and running for a 33 yard gain. Donnie Criswell finshed the drive with a 9 yard touchdown run, making the score 17-0 early in the 2nd quarter. Christ Prep got the ensuing kickoff at midfield when O'Hara failed to recover an onside kick, and scored 10 plays later, cutting the Celtic lead to 17-7.
O'Hara regained the momentum quickly, scoring on the 2nd play of their next drive when Raphael Spencer popped through the line of scrimmage on a trap, then sprinted up the left sideline for a 51 yard touchdown. O'Hara got the ball back with just one minute remaning in the half, but Tillman took a swing pass and raced untouched up the right sideline for a 53 yard touchdown reception, giving the Celtics a 31-7 halftime lead.
In the second half the quick scoring continued. White connected with Hernadez for a 50 yard touchdown on O'Hara's third offensive play. On the next series Tillman ran a counter 84 yards for a touchdown on the first play, putting O'Hara up 45-7 midway through the third quarter.
As O'Hara began subbing on defense, Christ Prep put together a very long touchdown drive, going 72 yards in 15 plays and 6:43 minutes. After trading fumbles at midfield, O'Hara gained great field position on a booming 55 yard punt by Larry Liggett that went out of bounds deep in Christ Prep territory. After the defense held Christ Prep, O'Hara was able to add one more touchdown on a 20 yard pass from Josh Stazen to Liggett. Christ Prep scored once more late in the game to make the final score 51-23.
White's 288 yards passing is an O'Hara single game record, breaking his own record set against Sedalia last year, and making him O'Hara's career passing leader with 2,017 yards, breaking a 30 year old mark set by Joe Holder. His two touchdowns moved him into a tie for most career touchdowns with 16, tying him with Ryan McNamara. The only passing record he does not have is yards in a season. He would need 483 more yards this year to catch McNamara's record of 1,377 set in 1998.
Chuck Preston once again led the defense in points with 16. Other leading tacklers included Spencer, Joey Tucker, and Joe Melchior.
Christ Prep did a great job hosting O'Hara. The game was played on field turf at SM North's beautifully renovated stadium. ThePatriots played hard and showed good sportsmanship. The public address announcer was very positive and complementary to O'Hara. And to top it off, there was pizza and Gatorade waiting for O'Hara in the locker room after the game.
The win improves O'Hara's record to 4-2. Next Friday the Celtics travel to Center. While this is Center's first year in the West Central Conference, they have been a frequent opponent of the Celtics over the years. The two schools have played 14 times, and O'Hara has an 8-6 record against the Yellowjachkets.